The finals tournament is held every four years. On the other years there are only qualifiers (qualifying tournaments). These games help to decide which teams will move on. Over 160 national teams play in the beginning games. The best teams from the beginning games win a place in the finals. The finals now include 32 teams. Before 1998, only 24 teams were in the finals. Many years before each World Cup, FIFA picks the host nation, the country where the finals will be held. Being the host nation means that their team has qualified for the finals tournament automatically and does not need to play any qualifying games. The 32 teams in the finals then play for four weeks, usually between June and July, to decide the champion (tournament winner).

↑There was no Third Place match in 1930, so FIFA decided that the United States finished third because they played better overall in the tournament than Yugoslavia.[2]

↑ 2.02.12.2There was no official World Cup final match in 1950,[3] instead the winner was decided in a final group competition with four teams (Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden and Spain). Urugauy finished top of the league, so they were the champions. Brazil finished second, Sweden finished third and Spain finished fourth. Because Uruguay's last match was against Brazil, this match is often considered the final of the 1950 World Cup.[4]